Thanks Chris for your message. Last Sunday afternoon, on my way to try my chances at seeing this owl, I met another birder who told me he had seen the owl but he was unhappy because 4 guys with cameras had decided to walk in the field to get close-up photos, and they had flushed the owl away.
When I arrived on Giroux, I saw the owl flying low over the field on the South side of the road and landing on a fence post; 2 guys were right behind it; they continued walking towards the owl which immediately flew across the road to land on an utility post. I stopped my car and looked at the owl for a moment; it looked at the guys behind him and at my car; I felt it was stressed; as I was slowly driving away, the owl flew again, to a nearby tree. This was my first observation of a Great-gray Owl this year. I should have been excited... This is the first GGOW I have seen without being happy about it. I am sure these guys did not mean to harass the owl. I hope your message Chris will help sensitize people to the need to not pursue an owl when it is hunting for its survival. There will probably be numerous visitors to that spot over the coming weekend; considering the unfavorable weather conditions of the last couple of days, this owl will probably need people to give it a break, so that it could hunt successfully. Langis Sirois, Ottawa chris traynor wrote: > Hi all, > > I drove down Giroux today during a small blizzard, and spotted the Great > Gray Owl sitting in a tree in the woodlot on the north side of the road. I > pulled my car over and rolled down the window to use my binos. The owl looked > nervous and flew into a higher tree about 100 metres away. An oncoming > vehicle pulled over and the driver got out to see what it was and what I was > looking at. This was enough to send the owl further into the woods. Normally > fairly approachable, this skittish behaviour could be a result of constant > "observing". > > NOTE: both sides of the road are fenced and posted No Tresspassing. > > Directions from Ottawa: > > 417 east exiting at Trimm Road. Trimm south to Innes. East on Innis to Frank > Kenny. South on Frank Kenny to Giroux. East on Giroux. The bird was in the > woods on the north side of the road at the top of the hill near the quarry > entrance. > _______________________________________________ > ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial > birding organization. > Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] > For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit > http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm > ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
